For Just One Second I Felt Whole
by Kryhs
Summary: Sarah has been meeting Jareth in her dreams. Her perception of him has changed entirely. But, can it stay that way when she suspects he is the reason she's returned to the Underground?
1. Chapter 1

_Author's note: Swoot! New story guys! Now that I've had a taste of drama and angst I want to try my hand at something that ties all of that in with a little humor. This is going to be a sort of AU type of thing, out of character, but I'll add in the necessary cruelty, trickery and deception throughout the plot. Hope you all like it. _

_Kryhs_

Chapter One: Wake up in a Whole New World.

She was dreaming. It was always the same. She was in a large room with high walls and a small circular drop in the center. The stone floor was littered with empty goblets and dirty blankets. The smell of dirt and grime permeated the room as a result of what looked like rusty weapons and smelly bodies lying on the floor against the walls and in balconies high above her head. Livestock slept in haphazard places about the slumbering bodies in the room; a chicken here, a goat there. Her nose crinkled as one of the figures snorted and passed gas in his sleep. She looked up towards the high ceiling and drew her eyebrows together in speculation. How could he _live_ like this? Her attention turned towards the throne at the far wall, elevated slightly higher than the rest of the room with its curved horn armrests.

And she saw him. His head cradled in his hand, propped up by an elbow, as he gazed pensively out of the window into the night sky, his long legs casually tossed over the arm of the throne. His eyes were slowly roving among the stars shining brightly outside and his face washed over with a peaceful look. This was a side of him she only saw in her dreams. At first all they did was argue, she berating him for his lack of compassion and him criticizing her for her naivety. Then after a year or so they began making small talk, gradually progressing to light conversation, and then finally being genuinely inquisitive about one another. After all this was only a dream, why make it a bad one? Now days she stayed for what felt like hours on end and then left when she began yawning in her dream. But, tonight was different; she wanted to stay until she woke up on her own in the middle of it. His company was pleasant enough and there were things she needed to know as well.

Approaching him carefully, she sat at the foot of the golden seat and cleared her throat elegantly. A smile swept across his face as he turned his bright and dark eyes toward her.

"Hello, Jareth…" she said sweetly.

"Hello."

"Don't you think you should clean up a bit?" she asked turning so that her back could rest against the throne and stretching her legs out on the steps, "I mean seriously look at this place." He chuckled deeply.

"Well I would have been sleeping comfortably in my tidy bedroom had someone not begun to drag me down here every other night. Truly, Sarah, why did your visits begin to increase in frequency? At first I rarely saw you but once a month and now…" Blushing, she tilted her head trying to think of an answer.

"Well," she began, "I don't know really. I think it has something to do with our being nice to each other lately, and the fact that I'm not scared of you anymore."

He tilted his head to look at her better, "You're not?"

"No."

"Really?"

"Yes, I mean. No, I'm not scared of you. I-" She turned to look at him, a teasing smile placed firmly upon his lips, "Shut up!"

"I haven't said anything," he answered in his justification.

"Yeah, but you're thinking something."

"Ah, but have I voiced it?"

"Well, no."

"Then I can't rightfully 'shut up' now, can I?" he asked mockingly. Sarah narrowed her eyes at him and turned away.

"I hate it when you do that," she said crossing her arms over her chest in a huff.

"Do what?"

"When you get all technical and stuff and then I feel like an idiot because you always find a way to get the upper hand of the situation." He was quiet for a moment.

"Touché, dearest."

The smile that tugged at the corners of Sarah's lips betrayed her indignant reply, "Whatever, don't try and pull me down to your level. _I_, my good sir, am a lady, and as a lady, I deserve the respect that comes with my gender," she said regally. Jareth snorted and recovered himself quickly as Sarah spun around and glared at him.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly.

She smiled at him, "I'm glad, though."

"About what?"

"That I didn't force myself to stop dreaming about meeting you like this."

His eyes became serious, "Why is that?"

"Because, now I feel that you're not the evil person you seemed to be all those years ago."

"Quite the contrary, my dear." he smiled and looked towards the window, "You make it sound as if it has been decades since that night. It's only been five years, Sarah." He looked back at her. She had turned around so that she could face him; her head lay atop her arms, resting on the seat of the throne.

"Yeah, I know." She yawned and continued, "But, I know you feel it's been forever too. I mean, we weren't exactly nice to each other then, and now look at us: Having a civil conversation in the middle of the night as if we were the best of friends."

"If you're tired, go back. I won't keep you." He shifted his position in the large chair.

"No, I'm fine. I didn't think I would start yawning this quickly though." Her head lolled as she lifted her eyes towards his, "But, before I pass out on you, there _is_ something that I need to know." He stared at her, urging her to go on.

"If I had stayed, if I had accepted the crystal in the end, what would have happened to me?"

"If I offered you one right now, would you take it?"

"Uh-uh, Mr. Tight-Knickers, I asked you a question first," She said stifling another yawn.

He gazed down into her eyes, "I would have given you anything you could possibly dream of." She stared silently up at him, a small feeling tugging at the base of her throat and alien warmth spread to her face, "And, you? What about my question?"

"I would take it without a moments hesitation," she said closing her eyes, "You're much nicer in my dreams anyway." She smiled and her breathing began to take on the slow, steady pattern of one who had drifted off to a deep sleep.

-x-X-x-X-x-

Jareth stared down at the dark haired woman that slept at the foot of his throne. He laid his head against the arm of the golden chair and smiled sadly to himself wishing his dreams would stop provoking him. Every other night he would dream about Sarah, and every day wake up to a cold and empty bedroom. He wondered if she dreamt of him at all. He wondered if she thought of him the way he woke up and fell asleep thinking of her. At first the dreams weren't this pleasant, they were out right vengeful. He would wake up with a sore throat from the screaming, and fall asleep hoping to see her again. He did eventually. But, like she had said, when the dreams became more enjoyable, the more they began to occur. He felt himself drifting off as well and decided it was for the best that his dreams needed to end. Other wise he might begin to think she really was visiting him at night.

Hours later when the sun began to pry the king's eyes open, he felt that something was completely wrong. His gloved hand laid on something soft and smooth, a pulse beneath his fingertips made his eyes snap open in alarm. There, curled peacefully by his throne was Sarah Williams in the flesh. His hand lay on her shoulder near her neck. Wide eyed he sat up trying in vain not to disturb her. Her eyes cracked open and she took in her surroundings. At first her eyes held those of a drunken stupor, then as the dawning realization hit her, she screamed. And, she woke everyone in the room up with her.

"What did you do?" she cried glaring at the king, a look he hoped she would never give him again.

"Would you believe me if I said nothing?" he said submissively, the enchantment from the previous night already bleeding away from their relationship. Her glare deepened indicating that her trust of him had broken into pieces. Obviously she only thought highly of him in his dreams. But, what caused her to lie in the same exact position as his dream was unfathomable to him.

"Send me back!" she said in a shrill voice causing him to wince inwardly, "Now!"

This was going to be a very long day.

_Author's note: This is more of a romance I guess, but I think their playful banter is cute, don't you? Review please: compliments, criticisms, flames. All are welcome._

_Kryhs_


	2. We Will See

_Author's note: Okay, Anij, I don't know about you, but if I had been having frequent dreams about the man who kidnapped my brother, no matter how nice he seems now, I would be apprehensive too. And now, ON WITH THE SHOW!_

_Kryhs_

Chapter Two: We Will See…

Sarah sat in a large bath tub submerged in hot water that stopped just a little below her nose. She stared around her, amazed by everything she saw. It was so…shiny. The outside appearance and the throne made it look as if it weren't that grand of a castle, but this bathroom gave it all away. Jareth was extremely wealthy if he could afford all of this. There was a wash basin and pitcher were made of immaculate porcelain inlaid with gold and silver vine-like designs on the outside sitting on a glass side table next to her. The bath tub closely resembled the wash basin. The only difference would be the gold and silver feet at the base of the tub. The walls were solid marble, polished to sheen, etched with gold and silver vines around the upper half and at the base of the wall. A polished beige marble counter held various silver trays with gold leaves jutting out of the sides as handles. In the trays were sweet smelling soaps and scrubs, fresh wash cloths embroidered with the crescent shape of Jareth's medallion, crystal bottles (which Sarah investigated thoroughly before taking a bath) with colognes and perfumes that smelled better than any she had used. A large mirror spanned the upper half of the wall where the counter was located with scones all along the top to light up the room. A small crystal chandelier hung from the middle of the room. Sarah eyed it warily and sunk lower into the water. Though the chandelier appeared to have small orbs of light floating around in it she still didn't trust anything that looked as if it might have come from Jareth himself.

She sighed and laid her head back against the high wall of the tub. He didn't seem like a bad guy anymore, but she didn't know how to react. One minute she's flirting with the Jareth of her dreams and the next she's kneeling at his throne while he lounged about without a care in the world. She had to get home. Finals were coming soon, and Toby's birthday. Ever since her first encounter with the Labyrinth, Sarah and Toby's relationship as brother and sister had strengthened. They were closer than they had been, but Toby was still a kid so she couldn't really expect him to be any less annoying. She just became a little more lenient and understanding. She sighed again and leaned over grabbing a fresh wash cloth and a bar of soap that had been laid out for her by one of Jareth's servants before she even went in. It smelled some what like Jasmine and honey. The Goblin King had given her a room, a nice one at that, and a private bathroom for her stay here. Hopefully her stay wouldn't be longer than just today. Judging by the sun she had already missed her classes. But then again things weren't always what they seemed her.

Earlier Sarah had yelled at him, accusing him of bringing her here without her consent. But maybe it wasn't without her consent. She did say she would have gone with him if he had offered her a crystal. But that was only a dream, wasn't it? He was being extremely kind to her, in her dreams mind you, so maybe if she was nice he would be the same way. After she had finished her tantrum, he politely and aloofly told her that she would be escorted to the dinning room where breakfast would be served, accommodations would be provided for her as well as anything else she might need. And she had glared at him. She _was_ angry, but not anymore. Lord, was she still an immature little child. A grown adult would have been angered but would have gone about the situation in a more refined manner. Not like she had. And, God help her she would apologize the very first chance she got.

It was settled, Sarah would find Jareth, say she was sorry, stay for the day, and _ask_ _politely_ to be sent home. Now if only she could find a towel…

-x-X-x-X-x-

Why in the name of all that was sacred had this happened? Jareth sat in his room, on the edge of his bed, brooding. She wasn't supposed to be here. Not that he did mind that she was here, but this was all going so wrong. He had hoped that she would return to him one day, but he hadn't expected it to be like this. The one thing he couldn't get out of his mind was the look of absolute fury on her face when she saw him. And good gods was she furious. So he did what any mature gentleman would do: he had food prepared for her and set up a room for her to stay in, far away from his own. He stared at the wall, burning an invisible hole into it with the intensity of his thoughts. Was it really hatred that he saw in her eyes, or was she just angry? If he had woken up at her bedside, wouldn't he be just as furious? He fell back and stretched out onto the bed, rubbing his face with his hand. She really shouldn't be here. She would upset the city if the ones who remembered her saw that she was back, seeing as how it took a little more than an hour to calm all of the goblins in the throne room down after she screeched her head off. And he was sure that when she saw him again, she would demand that he return her to the above ground. But the simple fact of the matter was that he had no idea how she ended up in the Underground to begin with. Did it have something to do with the dream? And if that were true, how could he get both of them to dream the same thing at the same time. Though he often offered people their dreams, he didn't offer to make them occur or cause people to have dreams. Truth be told, mortal dreams were something very dangerous to play with. That's why Jareth only _showed_ people their dreams, he dare not go farther. A calm talk was all he needed with her. As soon as she understood and accepted what had happened the better it would be for every one. Maybe a little surprise could help make her feel at home. He released a heavy sigh and sat up. He had dallied enough for the day, time to go to work. He stood and in quick long strides opened the door and exited the room.

Walking briskly through the corridors of his castle, he found his study and entered waiting for the frustrated ranting of his advisors.

-x-X-x-X-x-

"Oh, damn it all! Just tell me where I can find him!" she said crossing her arms impatiently. A short, balding goblin stood in front of her hiding behind his overly large shield. She shot him a glare and he ducked behind it once again.

"I'm sorry, M' lady, but His Majesty requested tha' he not is disturbed. Seein' as to how you put the whole castle in a uproar this mornin', lots o' folks 'round here have been tryin' to quit." He shifted nervously from one foot to the other as he spoke, his eyes darting around the hallway for a way to escape should Sarah start screaming again. So they remembered her? That could work to her advantage while she was here. The last time she was at the castle she had stormed in and wrecked everything in her path and ultimately defeated Jareth.

"Why would they quit?" she asked more so that she could finally talk to someone instead of having them run away from her. The goblin shifted and looked around the hallway once more, "Come on, I'm not going to scream again so just tell me." He looked a little relieved at her words.

"They're scared tha' you'll try to kill 'em or scream them eardrums deaf. Most o' us here still remember you and that what happen' wich you and King Jareth. Put a lot o' us in a good fright." He said still eyeing her warily.

"I'm not here to kill you or make any of you go deaf, so you don't have to worry about that. To be honest, I don't know what I'm doing here. It was kinda like I woke up sleeping at Jareth's throne." The goblin winced when Sarah hadn't used the formality that went with his king's name. She continued, "And that's why I need to find him! Tell me where he is!"

The little goblin jumped and hid behind his shield once more, "I already toljoo, M' lady. His Highness isn't wantin' to be disturbed." Sarah sighed in frustration. This wasn't getting her anywhere. Maybe if she coaxed the little creature out of fright he would accidentally tell her where he was. She fixed a sweet smile on her face and began.

"What's your name, little guy?" she asked in the nicest voice she could muster. The goblin puffed his cheeks and chest out angrily and came out from behind his shield.

"Name's Wragg an' I'm not litt-ul anymore, not since five decade ago!" he said indignantly.

"I'm sorry, Wragg. Look, I didn't mean for us to start off on the wrong foot, okay?" she said apologetically. The little goblin still looked at her heatedly and puffed himself up more, "Friends?" She held out her hand for him to shake. After staring at her for a moment or so, the goblin let out his breath and shook her hand.

"So, Wragg, Where could I start looking for Jareth?" she asked amiably. He stayed quiet for a moment, an indication that he was trying to set her on the wrong path.

"Look in the Library, maybe the kitchen. Try the throne room if you want too…"

She cut him off, "Okay where shouldn't I look for him?"

"The royal study behind the throne roo-" The goblin's eyes grew wide with shock and he clamped his hand over his mouth. But, it was too late, Sarah had heard.

"Thank you, Wragg," she said patting his head and began to turn away.

"Actually, I heard he's not in the study anymore," said a sultry voice. Sarah smiled despite herself.

"Really?" she turned around and looked at the speaker. She saw him leaning against a door way pretending to look at his nails nonchalantly, "Well do you have any idea where he is? It's important that I find him."

"Last I heard he was running about the castle," he said picking at the fabric where his fingernails would be, "looking for a girl, hmm about your height and size." He looked up and approached her, "Only this is the trick: She actually enjoys talking to him."

Sarah gasped, "No, you don't say! Well, I don't know about you, but this girl sounds very interesting."

"Indeed," he said smiling at her warmly, "Are you all better now?"

"Yeah, thanks," she said tucking her hair behind her ear, "Listen, I'm sorry about yelling at you this morning, but I wasn't exactly expecting to wake up here, y' know?"

He nodded, "It's quite alright, believe me. I have suffered worse of you temper tantrums, if I recall correctly."

She smiled sheepishly, "Well, seeing as to how I'm kinda stuck here. I was wondering if maybe we could get along. I mean not to sound stupid or anything but I kept having these dreams that I was meeting you in the throne room night after night and well, we would talk and you were kinda nice. So, do you think…"

"You dreamt that we repeatedly met in the throne room?" he asked seriously, pushing himself away from the door frame. Then maybe they weren't really dreams. Maybe there was a way he could get Sarah home, if they could dream together again then she could go back the way she came.

"Well," she blushed and wrung her hands together, "yeah, and I think that it has something to do with how I ended up here."

"I dreamt that you fell asleep in front of me last night."

Her eyes went wide with both fear and elation. It really was Jareth that she had been talking to this entire time, not some dream that she had invented to cover his real image. But, also he knew what she had said; how she would except a crystal from him had he produced one right that second. But, that was only a dream. She wouldn't really have done that in real life, she had too many priorities and too many doubts about what would happen to her. This wasn't some dream that she could fashion any way she wanted. This was Jareth, in the flesh, standing right in front of her, telling her that both of them had been meeting in dreams for the past five years. And she wasn't sure whether she should be happy that she was with him, or worried that she might not go home. But, if it was the same dream then what's to stop them from doing it again here? That way she would walk out of the throne room door and into her college dorm, just like she has been.

"Sarah?" he said snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Huh?" she said. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was slightly agape. Jareth fought hard to keep from laughing at her, but this was a serious matter.

"I said that there was no doubt that the dream somehow caused this, but there is no guarantee that neither you nor I can dream the same thing again. The atmosphere is different in the Underground, and so is the setting."

"Can't we make everything look like my room?"

"Even if we could recreate everything, there is nothing we could do if the dream didn't come back."

"Couldn't _you_ do something? You _do_ give people crystals that…"

"_Show_ peoples dreams." He cut her off, "Dreams in reality are very dangerous things to toy with, Sarah. One could get lost in them."

Sarah lowered her eyes to the floor, her mind heavy with thought, "How long do you think I'll be here?"

"I can't rightly say," He said leaning back against the doorway, "We will see tonight. Anyway, it's barely eleven o'clock, so we can't go about moping all day. I have a few things that need taking care of, but I will try and spare some time in the evening so we can discuss this later." Sarah nodded her head. "The library is just down the hall should you wish to indulge yourself in a book whilst you are waiting." He turned to leave and Sarah called his name.

"Thank you," she said softly.

He smiled brightly at her, "Come on, dearest. Try and smile a little. I'm not going to keep you here forever like I was planning to keep your brother."

Sarah's head snapped up at his words and she looked at him in shock.

"Eh, not a time for jokes then." He looked at her apologetically, "Look, I'll have you home in no time…I give you my word as a King." She smiled at him and gave a small nod. She waited until he had left and made her way to the library, hoping to find something to take her mind off of the matter at hand.

_Review Please!_

_Kryhs_


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